Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings

The current work investigates the possibility of strengthening grain boundaries by nanoprecipitates using a CrCu coating model system. To this end, two compositions with 30 and 40 at.% of Cu and a balanced amount of Cr were synthesized via physical vapor deposition. The coatings exhibited a thicknes...

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Main Authors: Michael Burtscher, Christina Kainz, Paola Dorner, Simon Fellner, Velislava Terziyska, Markus Alfreider, Daniel Kiener
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425000201
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author Michael Burtscher
Christina Kainz
Paola Dorner
Simon Fellner
Velislava Terziyska
Markus Alfreider
Daniel Kiener
author_facet Michael Burtscher
Christina Kainz
Paola Dorner
Simon Fellner
Velislava Terziyska
Markus Alfreider
Daniel Kiener
author_sort Michael Burtscher
collection DOAJ
description The current work investigates the possibility of strengthening grain boundaries by nanoprecipitates using a CrCu coating model system. To this end, two compositions with 30 and 40 at.% of Cu and a balanced amount of Cr were synthesized via physical vapor deposition. The coatings exhibited a thickness of 1.8 μm and a Cr-based solid solution was determined for both systems in the as-deposited state. The precipitation of Cu upon annealing was determined via high-temperature X-ray diffraction analysis. Furthermore, nanoindentation measurements on heat-treated specimens showed a peak hardness and Young's modulus after 400 °C annealing for both coatings. Heating experiments in the transmission electron microscope verified the related formation of nano-scaled Cu precipitates. The conditional fracture toughness and resulting J-Integral were determined for the as-deposited and selected heat-treated states utilizing micromechanical notched cantilever experiments. The annihilation of microstructural defects and the precipitation of nm-sized Cu precipitates within and along the columnar Cr are regarded as the primary strengthening mechanisms. This statement is verified by the appearance of the individual fracture surfaces and proves that tailored precipitation of nm-sized Cu particles is a viable strategy to effectively boost the fracture mechanical properties of physical vapor-deposited CrCu alloys.
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institution Kabale University
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series Journal of Materials Research and Technology
spelling doaj-art-48547872f6f340969a9b0b4681a755932025-01-12T05:25:01ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-03-0135369378Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatingsMichael Burtscher0Christina Kainz1Paola Dorner2Simon Fellner3Velislava Terziyska4Markus Alfreider5Daniel Kiener6Department Materials Science, Montanuniversität Leoben, Jahnstraße 12, Leoben, 8700, Austria; Corresponding author.Christian Doppler Laboratory for Advanced Coated Cutting Tools at the Department of Materials Science, Montanuniversität Leoben, Roseggerstraße 12, Leoben, 8700, AustriaDepartment Materials Science, Montanuniversität Leoben, Jahnstraße 12, Leoben, 8700, AustriaErich Schmid Institute of Materials Science, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Jahnstraße 12, 8700, Leoben, AustriaChristian Doppler Laboratory for Advanced Coated Cutting Tools at the Department of Materials Science, Montanuniversität Leoben, Roseggerstraße 12, Leoben, 8700, AustriaDepartment Materials Science, Montanuniversität Leoben, Jahnstraße 12, Leoben, 8700, AustriaDepartment Materials Science, Montanuniversität Leoben, Jahnstraße 12, Leoben, 8700, AustriaThe current work investigates the possibility of strengthening grain boundaries by nanoprecipitates using a CrCu coating model system. To this end, two compositions with 30 and 40 at.% of Cu and a balanced amount of Cr were synthesized via physical vapor deposition. The coatings exhibited a thickness of 1.8 μm and a Cr-based solid solution was determined for both systems in the as-deposited state. The precipitation of Cu upon annealing was determined via high-temperature X-ray diffraction analysis. Furthermore, nanoindentation measurements on heat-treated specimens showed a peak hardness and Young's modulus after 400 °C annealing for both coatings. Heating experiments in the transmission electron microscope verified the related formation of nano-scaled Cu precipitates. The conditional fracture toughness and resulting J-Integral were determined for the as-deposited and selected heat-treated states utilizing micromechanical notched cantilever experiments. The annihilation of microstructural defects and the precipitation of nm-sized Cu precipitates within and along the columnar Cr are regarded as the primary strengthening mechanisms. This statement is verified by the appearance of the individual fracture surfaces and proves that tailored precipitation of nm-sized Cu particles is a viable strategy to effectively boost the fracture mechanical properties of physical vapor-deposited CrCu alloys.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425000201CrCuPVDMicro-mechanicin situ TEMPrecipitation
spellingShingle Michael Burtscher
Christina Kainz
Paola Dorner
Simon Fellner
Velislava Terziyska
Markus Alfreider
Daniel Kiener
Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
CrCu
PVD
Micro-mechanic
in situ TEM
Precipitation
title Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings
title_full Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings
title_fullStr Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings
title_full_unstemmed Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings
title_short Phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline PVD CrCu coatings
title_sort phase stability and enhanced mechanical properties of nanocrystalline pvd crcu coatings
topic CrCu
PVD
Micro-mechanic
in situ TEM
Precipitation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425000201
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